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Avoid damage by starting on the lowest setting, slowly adjusting the pressure on the power washer, and making sure there’s sufficient distance between you and the surface you’re cleaning. While pressure washers do a great job at cleaning, they can’t clean everything. Some surfaces are simply too delicate to handle the pressure and could be damaged by it.
Repair before washing
Get if you want to cover anything (doors, windows, electrical, etc.). Wider angles are gentler, while narrow angles are more intense. These steps are crucial for ensuring your home is ready for a new coat of paint and stays in great condition.
The 15 Most Useful Power Drill Attachments
There are a few post-wash actions you need to take, especially if you plan to paint your house. When it comes to pressure washing, safety is as important as the cleaning itself. Understanding and following safety guidelines can prevent accidents and ensure a smooth cleaning experience. Using too high a PSI can harm your home’s exterior, stripping paint or damaging siding. If you’re unsure, it’s always safer to start lower and increase the pressure gradually.
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Apply Bleach Solution to Mildew Areas
Then, follow the instructions below to pressure wash your house (each step explains what to do for different types of houses, when necessary). Pressure washing your house can remove years of wear and tear in just a single day. This tutorial will walk you through the process from start to finish, with detailed instructions for siding, gutters and more (plus optional instructions for painting after). Tarps secured with duct tape can cover plants and shrubs effectively.
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If your home is composite, metal or vinyl siding, you can pressure wash your home once every year. However, homes with wood siding should only be pressure washed if there is significant mildew buildup or dirt. Connect the pressure washer to the outdoor faucet through an ordinary garden hose, attach a nozzle (see “Selecting the Best Nozzle,” below) and start the engine. Wear goggles to keep paint chips and dirt out of your eyes, and clothing that can get soaked. Spread old sheets or painter’s cloths on the ground and over shrubbery to catch paint chips.
Equipment / Tools
Then, make sure all your windows and doors are closed tightly. Ideally, wait for a dry, warm week to ensure all the moisture has evaporated. This patience pays off with a paint job that lasts longer and looks better.
Most experts recommend against pressure washing unless it is absolutely necessary, such as when you have a lot of grime or mildew buildup. The same goes for homes with a lot of cobwebs and located in an area with pollen. On the other hand, professionals charge anywhere from 10 to 80 cents per square foot to pressure wash a home. If you’re thinking of hiring the job out, estimate your square footage before you start making calls. All of the pressure washers were used in both high- and low-pressure situations with the available nozzles. For high-pressure testing, I removed mold from concrete pavers and gutters.
Power-Washing Painted Surfaces
Pressure washers do live up to their billing in that they are incredibly productive and water-conserving. But as with any other piece of outdoor power equipment, you have to select the right machine, then use it correctly. If you’re not confident, it might be safer to call in a professional, especially for delicate materials or hard-to-reach areas.
Set Up the Pressure Washer
Water concentrated to such a fine point can pierce a range of surfaces, including protective boots. Whatever the material that’s being pressure-washed, make sure to prevent water from becoming trapped between the siding and your home’s sheathing because moisture promotes mold growth. Repair or replace loose, damaged, or missing siding, and take special care not to spray water directly into any gaps around doors, windows, or under the lap joints on siding runs. Don’t pressure-wash shingle siding—the pressure can knock the shingles loose. Pressure washing is a loud and messy process that can be dangerous if you’re not careful. Make sure to keep people, pets, and young children away from the area while pressure washing, as flying debris or high-speed water can cause serious injuries.
Allowing dirt to build up on the outside of a home can reduce the efficiency of the siding’s inherent insulation. Worse, it can clog, coat, or cover critical ventilation that allows the home to breathe and vent the byproducts of heating and cooling systems. If the energy bill has been edging up, consider whether cleaning the exterior and vent system would let the house do its job better.
Use a little elbow grease and a specialized wheel cleaner on the wheels and other problem spots. Vinyl siding is pliable and can typically withstand pressure washing without much cause for concern. Aluminum siding, however, can dent, so it’s best to start on the lowest pressure setting with a broad nozzle, and save more concentrated blasts for problem spots. Electric pressure washers work really well for smaller jobs and have the benefit of being highly portable. It costs approximately between $120 to $1,200 to pressure wash a 1,500 square foot house depending on the level of dirt and cleaning method used.
Some painted surfaces might not stand up to even a gentle power washing, especially if they are old or have been exposed to sunlight for long periods. Avoid using a power washer on anything that is painted or stained (that is, if you want it to remain painted or stained), any fiber cement siding, old mortar, and gutters. Almost all power-washing jobs require the help of a detergent or chemical cleanser.
Labor costs get rolled into the square footage and linear foot cost of pressure washing. If you hire a local handyman to pressure wash your home, expect to pay between $45 and $100 an hour. A local power washing pro will charge between $0.20 and $0.30 per square foot to wash driveways. Dirtier driveways will cost more to pressure wash than cleaner driveways.
To power-wash your porch, deck, driveway, or sidewalk, use a rotary surface-cleaner attachment—which looks like a frisbee and sprays water in a spinning motion—for fast and even cleaning. As we wrap up our guide on how to pressure wash a house, let’s reflect on what we’ve covered. Pressure washing is a powerful tool in maintaining the beauty and health of your home. It’s about more than just making your house look good; it’s a crucial part of home maintenance that protects your investment. If you’re planning to repaint, you’ll definitely want to pressure wash first to prepare the surface. For areas with a lot of trees or exposure to pollution, you might need to do it more often.
So if you have a small job, your costs may be higher than what your square footage may equal out to. It is very common to have minimum costs between $100 and $350. If you have a small house with some mild algae streaks, you may spend a minimum of $100, regardless of what the square foot costs work out to be. In addition, you may also pay about $2 per hour for the water used. Most companies hook up to your water supply to perform the pressure washing work. Beyond these basic elements of cost calculation, there are other components that factor into the total cost of pressure washing a home.
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